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Golden Business Ideas

Negotiating with friends can be more difficult than
dealing with strangers. Friends are often in a somewhat
awkward position—after all, friends don’t take advantage of
each other.

One of the biggest dangers is not that
negotiations can break down, with the two sides agreeing to
disagree, but that a heated discussion can sour a
friendship. That usually occurs when either side feels
friendship should be an influential factor in the
negotiating process.

Before beginning a formal negotiation, consider holding
an informal prenegotiating session where you set guidelines
for the talks. For example, if you’re negotiating price
discounts, consider the discounts being offered to other
businesses and use that information as a standard. This
gives you a neutral starting point.

What happens
when you reach a deadlock—when neither side is willing to
move?

That’s the time to ask the other party for
advice on how to get the negotiations back on track. That
may sound nave, but in fact such a move disarms the other
party and sends a powerful message: “I’m open, I’m
listening, I want a win-win deal, and we’re still friends.”
That simple step may be enough to put the negotiations back
on track.

If it doesn’t work, suggest bringing in a
third party who is savvy about what you’re negotiating.

And if you’re faced with the need to challenge your
friend on the facts, don’t blurt out, “You’re wrong.”
Instead, say something like, “Have you considered this
information from our point of view?” Or, “I understand what
you’re saying, but your (lawyer, accountant, sales manager)
may have misinformed you about these facts.”

In
today’s e-business environment, where much of
business-to-business selling and buying are done in a
virtual marketplace, bargaining skills are being lost. There
is less face-to-face negotiation; an increasing amount of
business is conducted through mechanical e-mail bidding.
That’s a shame because to be an effective negotiator
requires continual practice. So seek opportunities to hone
your skills.

E-mail vs. Snail Mail

If you
haven’t already done it, set up an e-mail directory of all
your suppliers, customers, vendors and other business
associates. Internet communication not only saves you money,
it’s faster and tends to be more responsive.

Cut Turnover, Hire Less

With the
labor market so tight, smart employers are focusing on
cutting staff turnover. In the long run it’s far cheaper to
keep an experienced worker than to recruit and then train a
new employee. Steps to take:

Train for growth. If you don’t already have a
training program, develop one. If you do, be sure it’s
working. An effective program is designed to expand
workers’ skills, giving each an opportunity for career
advancement. Important: The program should give a clear
message that no job is a dead end.

Special assignments. Boredom is a
“killer”—especially for the bright, ambitious underused
employee. To address that problem, develop special
assignments slightly outside or beyond an employee’s
current job. If an employee succeeds, consider putting him
or her on a faster career track. If the worker does
especially well, consider even more challenging future
special assignments.

An
Invitation

The JofA
publishes a monthly collection of Golden
Business Ideas and invites readers to contribute
their favorites (for attribution, if you like).

Are you working with the best technology? Do you know how to help your clients determine if their technology stack measures up? In this free report, J. Carlton Collins, CPA, explains how to answer those questions via a technology assessment engagement.